"Beyond international issues, Gorbachev wrote in Time that domestic issues are “equally urgent. Under Putin, Gorbachev said, living standards in Russia are declining and poverty and corruption are rampant. Education, health care and science systems are all worsening, he said.

Putin’s pledges to fix these problems are empty, Gorbachev wrote, because “they cannot be solved without a change in the system of government.”

“I am convinced that Russia can succeed only through democracy,” he wrote. “Russia is ready for political competition, a real multiparty system, fair elections and regular rotation of government. This should define the role and responsibility of the President.”"

It is time to ask the question, should President Trump dump strange bedfellow, Vladimir Putin? If he does not, when Putin is up for reelection in 2018, it would quash election tampering by the Russian opposition and support Exxon Mobil’s joint ventures with Russian state oil.

The mainstream press has unleashed a salvo of calumnies to question President Trump’s favor with Russian leadership. Even during the presidential campaign, Vladimir Putin, who used his own state controlled press to approve our own representative men was vociferously accused of hacking the results of the election when iconoclast, Trump, took the GOP and then, the country. At the height of it, with more of a compliment than he has offered to any of his colleagues, Donald Trump, during the Foreign Policy Debate predicted Syria would turn in favor of the Russians.

The left and certain factions of the right and center have implored the American president that the reason this will not work is because Putin is megalomaniacal, murderous and conniving.

They have reportedly downed drones, hacked election results, and been caught flying over Alaskan airspace. They have been suspect of kompromat over Utah Republican Representative, Jason Chafetz, and his decision not to seek reelection; and Trump campaign advisor, Carter Page, according to The Daily Caller.

Fox news first reported that two Russian TU-95 Bear bombers were intercepted off the Alaskan coast by two US F-22 Raptors, on Monday, the Pentagon confirmed. United States military officials passed the incident off as “nothing out of the ordinary” and “not dissimilar from what we’ve seen in the past with respect to Russian long-range aviation.” It is unknown whether the pilots were related to the Kremlin’s recent oil fracking venture in the Arctic. Putin ordered PAO Rosneft to start drilling at its northern most oil well, reported the Financial Times. If all goes successfully, the fuel will fill up to 30% of Russia’s energy demands through the year 2050. Exxon Mobil applied to the Treasury Department for a “waiver from…sanctions” to resume its joint venture with Russian state oil, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, United States jets also intercepted of Russian aircraft off the coast of California in July 2015. That incident featured cockpit-to-cockpit communication in which the Russian pilots relayed the message: “Good morning, American pilots. We are here to greet you on your Fourth of July Independence Day.” Back in February, the USS Porter was sailing in the Black Sea when it encountered Russian aircraft three times.

So why was Trump on Putin’s side to begin with? Russian military support of the Baathist Regime finds them on the side of Iran, and whatever asinine behavior which such regime is guilty of perpetrating. Nonetheless, G7 countries failed to sanction the Kremlin for its support of the Assad regime.

On the one hand, Russia is acting like a lawnmower to cut down the enemy – Islamic State in Syria, (and not to mention al-Nusra Front and the al-Qaeda, among others)—each side vying for control of Aleppo and other strongholds, like gamblers playing juggle with bayonets. But recently, President Donald Trump, rescinded his remarks about the United States’ alliance with the Putin regime in Russia. “Right now, we’re not getting along with Russia at all. Right now were at an all-time low.” he said at a press conference. But later he took to his Twitter account declaring: “Things will work out fine between the U.S.A. and Russia… At the right time everyone will come to their senses & there will be lasting peace!”

It was largely Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s alleged early-April chemical attack on his own civilians that caused President Trump to strike a Syrian airfield with Tomahawk missiles, setting thereby a rupture of geopolitical ties with Russia in Syria and somewhat offset by the biggest move to date which was the dropping of MOABs to buttress a ground offense on NATO in Afghanistan.

But before he makes any swift action, the president must take into account what the Russian opposition hold in store for the war on ISIS and other matters. The main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, has been guilty of embezzlement and interference. However, if anyone is
altering election results it is him. Russian factions plan to investigate American media outlets to find out whether and how Parliamentary elections in 2016 were influenced when the Putin-backed United Russia party won. Putin will be up for re-election in 2018 and it will be up to the United States to say what side shall fill the Kremlin, is it quid pro quo between Putin and Trump or is it time for change?

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed at the meeting with permanent members of Russia’s Security Council the fight against cyber crime and also the need for international cooperation in war on terror amid the attack on police in Paris, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"A detailed discussion was held on topical issues of Russia’s social and economic development. Participants of the meeting condemned yesterday’s attack on police in Paris and expressed condolences to the French citizens. It was noted that there is no alternative to international cooperation in the fight against terrorism," Peskov said.

The sides also discussed the fight against cyber crime and international regional issues, including Syria, he said.

At least one police officer was killed in the shootout on France’s landmark Champs Elysees boulevard on Thursday, three days before the country is to choose its new president.The shootout took place at 20:50 local time (21:50 Moscow time) on Thursday, in front of the Marks & Spencer store on Champs Elysees, at the corner of Rue de Berri. According to French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet, one officer was shot dead immediately, two others were wounded. A female foreign tourist, who was passing by, was slightly injured.The incident coincided with prime-time TV presidential campaign, aired by the France-2 TV.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev tweaked Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for a change in Russia's system of government. | Getty

Decisions made by Russian President Vladimir Putin were “justified” and successfully stabilized his nation, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wrote in Time magazine, but have proven costly in the longer term.

“In the initial phase, certain measures of authoritarian nature—a kind of manual control—were justified,” Gorbachev wrote in Time’s annual 100 most influential people edition, published online Thursday. “The costs: a diminished parliament, judiciary and civil society and less media independence. With time, the flaws became more evident.”

Story Continued Below

Gorbachev said Putin arrived in office, his second time as president, with a crisis inherited from his predecessor. But Putin’s solutions to that crisis left Russia with worsening relations with Western nations and slower economic growth.

Relations with the U.S., in particular, have deteriorated over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursions into eastern Ukraine, as well as Putin’s support for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Following raised expectations that relations between the U.S. and Russia might improve under President Donald Trump, who spoke warmly of Putin and Russia on the campaign trail, Russian and U.S. officials have both said in recent weeks that relations between the two nations are at a low point.

Beyond international issues, Gorbachev wrote in Time that domestic issues are “equally urgent. Under Putin, Gorbachev said, living standards in Russia are declining and poverty and corruption are rampant. Education, health care and science systems are all worsening, he said.

Putin’s pledges to fix these problems are empty, Gorbachev wrote, because “they cannot be solved without a change in the system of government.”

“I am convinced that Russia can succeed only through democracy,” he wrote. “Russia is ready for political competition, a real multiparty system, fair elections and regular rotation of government. This should define the role and responsibility of the President.”

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Vladimir Putin is preparing to stand down as Russian president and hand over power to a trusted successor, a leaked letter from a friend has claimed. He is ready to anoint speaker of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin as his chosen successor as ...

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed with the permanent members of Russia's Security Council events that are on the top of the agenda, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. Vladimir Putin conducts Russian Security Council meeting.

Vladimir Putin is preparing to stand down as Russian president and hand over power to a trusted successor, a leaked letter from a friend has claimed.

He is ready to anoint speaker of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin as his chosen successor as president, it is suggested, but there are fears the text could be a dirty trick involving warring rivals close to the powerful leader.

Putin was evidently caught by surprise when confronted with the claim at a public Kremlin session.

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Rumours in Moscow claim Vladimir Putin, right, is expected to appoint Vyacheslav Volodin as his successor ahead of next year's presidential elections

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The claims were made at a public hearing of the Kremlin attended by the Russian president

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Volodin, pictured, has previously urged Putin to seek a further six-year term in the Kremlin

He paused before giving an answer that neither confirmed nor denied whether he will fight next year's presidential election.

Most pundits predict the strongman to seek another six years in the Kremlin, and few doubt he would win by a landslide, but he has not so far announced he will stand again.

Volodin - a devout loyalist with a high public profile who served previously as his deputy chief of staff - has not yet commented on the swirling rumours, but in December publicly urged Putin to stand for another term.

The letter alleging Volodin 'would soon be president' was supposedly penned by another Putin political friend Frants Klintsevich, a senior senator, who is close to both men.

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Putin had earlier said it was up to the Russian people to determine who should succeed him

Klintsevich later claimed the letter was a 'fake', and he is known to be embroiled in an ugly dispute the man who evidently shocked Putin by reading it out, Andrey Chepurnoy, leader of a group of Afghan War veterans.

'The most outrageous thing, Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin), is that here, in this very letter, Klintsevich calls Volodin the successor to the President of the Russian Federation,' Chepurnoy told him.

'Vladimir Putin paused to cope with the information he had just received,' reported newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.

'It's not every day that someone confronts him with the name of his successor - and right before the presidential election.'

Putin lays flowers near St Petersburg metro station blast site

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He replied testily with no clue as to any truth that Volodin is his chosen heir : 'The president's successor will be determined only by the Russian people during a democratic election - and nobody else can do it.'

Volodin, 53, a lawyer before entering politics, was seen with 'a completely stony faced expression' after Chepurnoy's outburst, said a witness.

An ally of the speaker, Sergey Neverov, gave an interview in which he repeatedly avoided answering whether he wanted Volodin as president.

Yet nor did he back Putin for another term.

Klintsevich claimed the letter was 'fake' and was made up to some 'ugly purpose'.

'Any graphology expert will prove my words' he said, although the text appeared to be typed.

One theory was that rivals for Putin's job may have wanted to embarrass Volodin by labelling him as the heir.

Chepurnoy raised the letter in a public session with Putin as part of a battle between him and Klintsevich who has claimed the Afghan War veterans organisation is not run transparently.

'He is calling the regions and scares our members, leaders and officials, saying that Volodin would soon be a president, and that he will grant Klintsevich enormous privileges,' he said.

Klintsevich would then 'bury alive' the leadership of the organisation which has rehabilitated 100,000 patients, he said.

Putin vowed to look into the allegations - 'we'll deal with it' - but did not address who would be ruling party United Russia's candidate in next year's election.

The Russian president has indicated he yearns to travel without the weight of high office, yet he has created a system which could lurch into bitter infighting without him as lynchpin.

In December, Volodin showed urged Putin - who has been president or prime minister since 1999 - to announce he would seek another term.

'We have a candidate,' said Volodin.

'And we will keep supporting him.

'You know him - and I think you will support him too.

'Because he is a man who has proved with his labour and his service that he can do a lot for Russia, that he loves it.

'He is doing everything for our country and he is acknowledged in the whole world.'

A political rival of one of Putin's allies stunned the Kremlin by reading out the letter during a parliament meeting

VLADIMIR Putin is preparing to dramatically quit the Kremlin and hand over to a trusted crony, according to a explosive letter revealed during a parliament meeting.

The bombshell letter, which visibly shocked President Putin when it was read out, claims the strongman leader is ready to anoint the speaker of the Russian parliament Vyacheslav Volodin as his chosen successor.

But there are fears the text could be a dirty trick involving warring rivals close to the powerful leader.

Putin was evidently caught by surprise when confronted with the claim at a public Kremlin session.

He paused before giving an answer that neither confirmed nor denied whether he will fight next year’s presidential election.

Most pundits predict the strongman will seek another six years in the Kremlin and few doubt he would win by a landslide.

Russia should join NATO: the benefits for the Global Security are enormous

To reformulate Lord Ismay's phrase: 1) Take Russia in, 2) Continue keeping Germany down, 3) Assert and exercise the US leadership position within the NATO as a unifying and directing force and vector.

"Ловец Человеков"

Connected? The halo is there. And the Book is there. And the disciples are there. But where is the Light of Understanding, in this big curved dark tunnel of a vision? Where is the big red dot? Where is the new beginning?

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Hillary Clinton and rock group Pussy Riot

"Great to meet the strong & brave young women from #PussyRiot, who refuse to let their voices be silenced in #Russia. 1:09 PM - 4 Apr 2014" - Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton tweeted a picture Friday of her posing with members of the anti-Vladimir Putin punk rock group Pussy Riot. Clinton met with the women during the "Women in the World Summit" in New York. The group has emerged as chief opponents of Putin, and three members were jailed in 2012 after an anti-Putin performance at a church. The tweet has been re-tweeted almost 10,000 times.